$215m embezzled in MoD oil contract: MP

KABUL (Pajhwok): A Wolesi Jirga member, Abdul Rahim Ayubi, on Tuesday accused a number of lawmakers of being involved in administrative corruption, an issue of grave concern for Afghanistan's international backers.

“There is no commission in the lower house of parliament that hasn’t received bribes from ministries and local authorities in 28 provinces,” he told a gathering marking International Anti-Corruption Day in Kabul.

Ayubi claimed he had evidence showing $215 million embezzlement in an oil contract signed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). He said he had shared the evidence with the authorities concerned and former president Hamid Karzai, but failed to elicit a positive response.

The MP alleged his colleagues had accepted two to three million dollars in bribes from ministers-designate to be endorsed.

He said the ministerial nominees offered the huge money because they knew they would earn more once granted vote of confidence. He said only a strong political will could help end corruption in the country.

However, Wolesi Jirga deputy secretary Irfanullah Irfan said there were honest lawmakers committed to serving their constituents only.

He said if Ayubi had any evidence, he should share it with the Wolesi Jirga. “I can’t deny corruption, but we don’t have evidence to prove that money is offered to lawmakers.”

In his speech, Ayubi did not go into details of the evidence he has about the embezzlement in the MoD contract, but said he had presented it to various national and international agencies. Officials at the MoD said they had no information about any misappropriations in the ministry’s contracts.